Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud says that the Skeldon Bagasse Cogeneration Project (SBCP) will shortly attract funds from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and this will benefit both the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) and residents of the Skeldon community.
Persaud is optimistic that the power generation facility will contribute up to 15 megawatts of energy per week, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.
Meanwhile, a World Bank mission to conduct initial verification and supervision of the SBCP under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism met with the minister last Friday at the ministry’s boardroom.
And Persaud has expressed confidence that the project can gain Guyana significant incentives from the CDM and he anticipated up to US$3M in flows, GINA stated.
On May 4, 2008, the Skeldon Sugar Modernisation Project (SSMP) became the first project in Guyana to be registered with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the project qualified to receive incentives under the CDM of the Kyoto Protocol. The CDM has however been in place since 1997.
With the new bagasse cogeneration plant being part of the SSPM, clean energy will be generated in keeping with Guyana’s obligation to the Kyoto Protocol, particularly Article 12.
As a party to the CDM, GuySuCo will be able to sell Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) that result from electrical energy generated from bagasse fuel.
The Bank’s Senior Environmental Specialist, Carbon and Environmental Finance, Africa Region, Noreen Beg, confirmed that the SBCP, within the broader SSMP, is the first project in Guyana and the Caribbean to be registered with the Kyoto Protocol’s CDM.
She said that the team had gone to review the environmental, agricultural and social practices relating to the project in Skeldon, and the operation of the factory.
She noted that the team was satisfied with the project and related realities, and expects that by next August the project would have undergone the first year of emission reduction power generation to the grid.
According to Beg, within the next month, subsequent to final consultations, the Bank will be able to make a first payment to community benefits.
Despite declining to disclose a specific amount, GINA reported, Beg assured that the sum will be substantial, and will be used for community skills training; the purchase of books for the library; and support for the Community Centre.
She said that, initially, the hope is to fortify the Community Centre with computers, sewing machines, and good sporting facilities. Further payments will be expended towards the public dispensary, garbage disposal, transport for students, and generally in areas the community would deem to be necessary.
Other members of the mission at the meeting were George Ledec, Lead Ecologist; Manuel Luengo, Carbon Finance Specialist, Carbon Finance Unit; and Adelaida Schwab, Natural Resource Economist, Carbon Finance Unit.
